


Water Under the Bridge

by sacredsymbol821



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Angst, Angst with no happy ending, F/M, Verdant Wind Spoilers, no happy ending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-01
Updated: 2020-03-01
Packaged: 2021-02-28 03:22:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,145
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22976842
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sacredsymbol821/pseuds/sacredsymbol821
Summary: Claude is surprised when he's paired up with Edelgard for an interhouse assignment.
Relationships: Edelgard von Hresvelg & Claude von Riegan
Comments: 2
Kudos: 30





	Water Under the Bridge

**Author's Note:**

> I am not dead, as much as school is trying to say otherwise. Also, a heavy Verdant Wind Spoiler warning. I suggest if you haven't played that route and want to do so unspoiled, don't read this. Also, sorry for any grammar errors, as this is unbetaed!

Claude couldn't help it. He did not usually like these house leader meetings, even though teasing Dimitri about whatever he had going on with Edelgard was fun, but there was only so far you could push a person and Dimitri was very clearly holding that very close to himself, for whatever reason. Truthfully, he did not like the vulnerability of it. The three future leaders of Fodlan in one room was a horrible idea. Like the three future leaders of Fodlan going after bandits without any help. He still wondered whose idea that was, and as much as him running had been an act of self preservation, it had, somehow, worked out. He was expecting Manuela or Hannenman to be at the head of the room, but to his surprise, his own homeroom teacher was. 

"Hey, Teach. You got saddled with us today?" He asked, not bothering with his usual smirk. 

"Yes." The Professor admitted, before looking down at their desk. 

"I bet you were so happy you got to give us all one on one teaching today, huh?" Claude asked, looking them in the eye. 

They looked at him, narrowed their eyes at him, and shrugged. Even when they did such a simple gesture as that, their eyes still seemed soulless. It was uncanny, and a chill ran up Claude's spine. He wasn't doing that again anytime soon. Thankfully, he did not have too, as Dimitri arrived, as prim and proper as ever. 

Besides the Edelgard thing, something about his Princeliness set off warnings in Claude's head- though that was normal for him. Still, though, he had pushed Dimitri and teased him about multiple things, and all the other boy did was groan or give him a lecture about honor. Honor was a big thing in Fodlan, but never shouting wasn't. He never wanted to see the taller Blue Lions leader angry, he decided. 

If Dimitri was a puzzle, Edelgard was an enigma. With Dimitri, Claude knew that he was not putting all his cards on the table. With Edelgard, all he knew was that she was the Heir to the Adrestian Empire. If he even attempted to strike up a conversation about her with her classmates, the tall pale student in her class would eye him evilly. This didn't scare Claude, but enticed him. 

"Good Morning, Professor." Edelgard greeted before Dimitri had gotten the chance to get his scroll and ink out. Claude watched the look he gave her and shook his head. If all nobles in Fodlan were as subtle as Dimitri was being, Claude wondered how the continent had gotten this far. He made sure to give Edelgard a wave to make her remember she was there, just in front of his face, but not to look desperate.

"Good morning, you three. Hannenman and Manuela gave me a list of things you usually do here. The first one on it says grades." 

Edelgard sat across from him. 

"The Golden Deer have a solid B+ when averaged out." The Professor told them matter of factly. Claude imagined Seteth saying that and shivered. 

"B+?" Dimitri asked, an accusatory look thrown at Claude. 

"Yes." The professor answered. Claude looked over to see them frowning at Dimitri. 

"From my calculations, the Black Eagle House has an A." Edelgard replied. Claude looked at her. He didn't doubt that one bit. 

"The Blue Lions have a B." Dimitri sighed, and Claude imagined that Sylvain was about to get an earful from his peers for making their house look bad. 

Teach made a note in their notebook, then continued down the list. 

"Manuela, Hannenman and I talked about this one." They said, almost brightly. Claude had no idea when they had this meeting with the other two homeroom Professors, and it was way too late to ask. 

"In an effort to promote inter house communication, two of the three of you will be assigned to do a task for the monastery every month." The Professor said. 

"And the third?" Edelgard asked. 

"Will do studying with one of us. This will rotate every month until graduation." Teach finished. Claude wanted to laugh, but instead smiled into the table. The three of them rarely talked, for good reason. Claude knew when he was being ostracized, and these two royals did not like having this newcomer enter their territory. He got it, really. This would only exacerbate the problem with the world, not fix it. 

"Claude and Edelgard, you are to start us off this month. Dimitri, you'll be spending the month with me." 

Claude nearly dropped his quill in surprise, but he couldn't hide all his shock at being chosen- his head shot up. 

"You got it, Teach." He said a little too happily, and looked over at Edelgard, who was very clearly frowning. She frowned a lot, he realized, then went right back to scribbling on his paper.

“When do we start?” She asked the Professor.

“Next week, if that’s alright with the both of you.” They replied, looking between the both of them.

Claude knew enough to nod, despite his stomach doing flips at the suddenness of being thrust into doing a task with a complete unknown. He made sure that Edelgard did not see this anxiety, though, and gave her his most winning smile. She continued to frown at him, and he kept smiling at her, because he was not backing down. She rolled her eyes at his antics and went back to writing on her own paper. 

He almost laughed at getting the first win he would against her, but did not because he could feel Teach staring soulless holes into his head. He put his head down, and continued to write in his notes as the session continued. When it was finally over, he gave both Dimitri and Edelgard a small wave, with a smile, of course and left the classroom before either of them could start a conversation with him. He was still very anxious over what was going to happen next week, so he ran over to the wyvern stables and went to his trusty steed who wasn’t his trusty steed, but he would not tell her that.

The next week was particularly unstressful. Claude had been looking forward to Hilda giving him more work to do, or Leonie and Lorenz bickering in class, but once the grades were put up for each house the following day, everyone quietly went about their business. Teach should have been just as surprised as he was, but they had the emotional range of an ant, so they weren’t. Then he found out they assigned him and Edelgard to work with the wyverns and pegasi, so he figured they actually did care- or, at least, were good at paying attention. It was like that on an almost daily basis with them. 

After class the next week, Claude loitered for awhile outside the classroom. Hilda was, of course, nowhere to be found today when he could have used the distraction, so he resigned himself to walking over to the stables where they held the wyverns and pegasi.

It was still a shock to him that pegasi and wyverns could coexist. Wyverns liked to eat meat, and pegasi were flying meat. Maybe they just didn’t like hooves to the face when trying to get dinner. Claude wouldn’t either, if he was being honest. 

“Hey, girl.” He greeted his wyvern, who seemed bored. She hadn’t been hurt by anyone who had used her before, even accidentally, so he was surprised to see one of her scales a little ajar. 

“Was this you?” He asked, holding the scale in place so she could know what he was talking about. The wyvern nodded, and it didn’t seem like it was causing her a huge amount of pain, so he left it there, as the new one was probably growing in under it then, anyway. He met Edelgard halfway around Garreg Mach. 

“Good afternoon, Princess. Having a good day?” He asked, not forgetting to smile. 

He almost dropped his wooden axe when she smiled back- a little thing, but it was nice to see her doing anything but frowning. 

“Good day to you too, Claude. My day has been busy, as I imagine yours has?” She asked.

He shrugged easily. 

“Yeah.” He did not say much more than that, remembering they did have a task to do. 

“So, you’ll take left, I’ll take right? Or would you prefer the right?” He asked, rolling his shoulders a little bit on the very off chance that some flying bandit was beelining on his way there to take them both out at the moment. 

Edelgard stared at him. He wasn’t sure why, but knew that the intensity of her gaze was starting to make him a little uncomfortable. 

“I know I’m pretty, Princess, but you don’t have to make it obvious. Would you like me to repeat the question?” He asked flippantly. 

“I heard you, Claude.” She said. She hadn’t denied he was pretty. It was his turn to look at her while looking at the clouds forming above the monastery. Her eyes were a light lavender, and that was pretty about her, but the white hair was off putting. It reminded him of a grandmother. 

“What if I took the North, you take the South?” She said finally. 

“That’s fine with us.” He finished, and watched her fly off before he went to do his job. He wondered why they made them do this- no one was stupid enough to attack the monastery. When they finished, they met in the middle of the monastery. 

“Everything went alright?” He asked her.

“Of course it did. Why the sudden concern?” She asked, her eyes narrowing.

“Don’t worry, Princess, I’m just doing my due diligence. That tall guy who always shadows you doesn’t seem like someone I want to tussle with ever.” He answered. This time, when he smiled, it was a genuine one, and not the usual mask he wore. 

She attempted to hide her smile behind one of her gloved hands, but he still caught a glimpse of it before she succeeded in doing so. 

“‘That tall guy’ is named Hubert. He is just ensuring I am safe.” She told him. She wasn’t one to let people in that easily from what he’d gleaned, so just learning Hubert’s name was a gift. 

“He can stand to do it a little less overbearingly, in my opinion.” Claude told her. 

Then, they both landed at the stables, and Claude had to make sure that Raphael hadn’t eaten the entire Dining Hall’s worth of food, so he gave Edelgard a quick wave before turning on his heel and casually walking away. Unfortunately, he did not see her wave back.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

The next time they had sky patrol duty, it was raining, which was Claude’s least favorite type of weather anywhere, not just in Fodlan. It was harder to see while flying because of the droplets falling from the sky, and the darkness did not help matters. 

“Hey, girl.” He greeted his wyvern, who huffed at him.

“Yeah, I feel the same way.” Claude nodded. He was feeling antsy today, himself. On days like this, he really felt his past come to stare at him, and all he could do was smile back. 

“The quicker we’re done the better we’ll feel, yeah?” Claude told the wyvern. She didn’t make a sound at him. 

He and Edelgard met again in the center of Garreg Mach. The rain was so hard at this point that if it weren’t for his saddle, he would have fallen off the wyvern. 

“They couldn’t have assigned us to do something a little less dangerous today? The weather is really bad.” He lamented to her. 

“I do not understand why they didn’t change our task, either.” She admitted. 

“Well, if I get pneumonia because of this, I’ll be sure to bring it up with Teach.” He said out loud, frowning.

When he said Teach, Edelgard’s head snapped towards him, and her eyes narrowed at him as if he had insulted her. 

He could feel a prodding question coming, and he was not in the mood for it. 

“Well, we should probably get going.We don’t want Hubert blaming me you got a cold.” He pressed, and quickly flew away without asking what directions they were both taking. His past was his own, and he would like to keep it that way. He was very good at avoiding questions. He would even do it when Teach got too close to secrets he wasn’t ready to reveal. He couldn’t think about that right now. If he wasn’t careful, he and his wyvern would accidentally punch a hole in the Cathedral if he wasn’t careful navigating in the rain. The spires were his least favorite part of the monastery for many reasons, this being one of them. They were doing another pass through this section of the monastery when something told him to look to his right. He shifted just a bit and was very glad he did. Edelgard and her wyvern were not having any fun. The wyvern was having trouble, and fighting off the 

“How fast can you fly?” He asked his wyvern carefully. She responded immediately, taking a sharp turn he wasn’t expecting, nearly snapping off a spire as she did so. 

“Ok I didn’t say to go now!” He yelled, but held on for dear life. 

“Hey, Princess!” He yelled when they got closer. She was trying to stay in control of her unruly wyvern that wasn’t listening, and he was astounded at how composed she was saying as she was trying to stay on the saddle of the wyvern. He tried not to think about how far of a fall this was. 

“Try and get it towards the ground!” He screamed. Suddenly the rain was coming down in sheets, because of course it was. If she heard him, she did not acknowledge him. 

Claude clenched his teeth. Edelgard was very close to falling out of the saddle, and they simply could not have that on his watch. He let out an Almyran swear he had heard his father use many times automatically. His wyvern had plans of her own, and bit her friend- not enough to bite into skin, but enough to let her friend something was wrong, who wasn’t expecting it. It did, however calm the wyvern a bit, allowing Edelgard to take control of the reigns. Only when he saw that she was in a safe descent did he allow his wyvern to start to descend.

“Is everything alright?” He asked as soon as he touched down. 

“That depends on who you’re asking.” She replied.

He glared at her.

“Please answer the question.” He asked, running a hand through his hair tiredly. It was, unsurprisingly, wet. 

“Actually, let’s get them both back to the stables. Then we can talk.” He amended, before grabbing his wyvern and leading her into the stables. She was happy to be out of the rain, and practically crawled into her stall very rapidly. 

“Thanks for the backup.” He said, rolling his eyes.

He watched her put her wyvern away, and did not budge from where he was sitting.

“You can go back out there, but I wouldn’t recommend it. Especially after what just happened to you. I must admit, Princess, your resolve is something to be applauded.” He finished, realizing he was about to say way too much. 

Her ears perked up, as well, and she turned towards him.

“You seemed to be handling that wyvern rather well, yourself. Do you have past experience?” She asked. He had nowhere to look, he realized. Or anywhere to run, unless he wanted to look like the biggest hypocrite in Garreg Mach, which was very hard to do with the nobles that lived around it. He forced himself to look at her eyes. 

“I do, in fact. I grew up around them.” He admitted, keeping it at that. 

She took a minute to process that before answering.

“They are not all that common in Fodlan.”

He had said too much.

“On the eastern ranges of the continent, they are.” He countered quickly. They were more likely to appear there, but he did not know that area too well, so it was an educated guess at best. 

“Is that where you grew up? That is a long way from Derdriu.” Edelgard asked. 

Claude liked Edelgard, and the prodding was cute, but it also made him run to the next continent like he was used to doing. Right now, he couldn’t. 

“Let’s...leave it at that.” He admitted, looking towards the sky, where it was still raining heavily. He really didn’t want to get his hair wet. If Lorenz found out, he would kill him for being un noblelike. 

As he was looking at her, partly for injuries and also trying to figure out what he was going to say to her, his ears picked up footsteps in the rain, and he quickly turned his head to see the Professor running towards them full speed. They certainly seemed more focused than he was used to seeing, which was surprising. 

“Thankfully, you both finished.” Teach said, and Claude blinked, only staring at them.

“Yes, Professor?” Edelgard asked. Looking towards her was only a sign of guilt or that something had gone wrong. Claude was all about schemes and lowballing on the battlefield, but this was a task, and doing so would make him look bad in the process. Plus, he thought before he could stop the thought, the Princess of Adrestia was kinda cute.

“You were both alright in the rain?” Teach asked.

“Yup. Smooth as silk.” Claude answered easily. He started at his teacher unflinchingly. Despite their eyes being soulless, they had the uncanny ability to see when he was lying or when he wasn’t telling the full truth. This time, however, he did not betray anything, and the Professor nodded before turning away. 

“You should both get some rest. I’m sure the work was tiring.” They said over their shoulder. Claude did not stop to say anything to Edelgard, leaving behind Teach as fast as he could. The rain continued to pound on Garreg Mach’s stone steps.

>>>>

They worked together over the next few weeks, and thankfully, there were no more wyvern smashing Princess incidents. On the last day of their wyvern work for the month, however, Claude was surprised to see that Edelgard was waiting for him by his school assigned wyvern. 

“Good Morning, Princess.” He greeted, raising an eyebrow to show that he was wondering what she wanted from him. 

She took a deep breath before answering.

“Good Morning, Claude.” She answered back. 

“Did you need something from me?” He asked. 

“In a sense. I wanted to thank you for saving me a few weeks ago.” She admitted. 

He shrugged. 

“All water under the bridge, Princess. And it was the least I could do.” He looked at her.

“You’re not going to force me to do a favor for you?” She asked incredulously.

He narrowed his eyes for a second. 

“No. We both know I like my schemes, but I like to think I have some type of standard, Princess. Watching you fall to your death is not one of them.” He admitted. 

She digested what he said.

“Then I owe you an apology.” She told him.

The smile on his face was surprisingly genuine. He shook his head.

“You don’t owe me anything, Princess. We were comrades. I was just making sure one of my comrades didn’t die.” He admitted. 

“Maybe so, Claude. I still feel like I should say thank you.” She finished.

“And you did, and you’re welcome. Can we get this over with so we can never have to see each other again?” He teased, turning toward the stall where his wyvern was. 

Suddenly, there was something warm on his cheek. It took him a minute to realize that she had kissed him on the cheek. It was much quicker than he remembered it, and she was gone shortly thereafter, but his mind, which was usually cooking something up for whatever he was doing at the moment, shut down and it was all he could do to stare at the door. When he opened it, his wyvern looked very bored. 

“Don’t you start.” He told her, before doing the task assigned to them in a fog he was not used to feeling. 

They had no time to talk before they went their separate ways. If they had time to talk, Claude wasn’t sure what he was going to say for once in his life, and that scared him more than he would admit. 

>>>>>>>>

The next few months passed and Claude did not get to talk to Edelgard alone, something he found that he desperately wanted to do. Dimitri was always there, or Edelgard was being shadowed by Hubert. It was annoying if Claude thought about it for too long, so he focused himself on other things. He almost forgot about it when Flayn went missing, and he definitely forgot it when Teach smiled for the first time when she was found. Since Flayn was there assignment for that month, he and Dimitri were forced to work together the month after. His Princeliness was definitely not as fun to work with as Edelgard was. If Claude even breathed wrong, he would get a ten minute lecture on honor and carrying himself like a noble. Dimitri meant well, really, but Claude really liked being able to breathe, and Teach was starting to tell it was grating on him. How they were getting better at reading him, he did not know. 

After that month, he got to sit and study with Teach, who was beginning to open up much more. After the Battle of Eagle and Lion, he had proposed a feast between the Three Houses, but had not been able to speak to Edelgard as he was busy speaking to everyone else.

The winters in Fodlan were much colder than he was accustomed to, but when he had heard there was a ball coming up, he suddenly remembered that kiss on the cheek he had thought he had forgotten. Maybe he could finally get some answers from the Adrestian Heiress. About something that had happened months ago. 

The night of the ball came, and the Golden Deer were absolutely buzzing with energy. They had the next three days off of classes, and everyone, including him, was happy about that. The ball started, and to no one’s surprise, Teach was wanted by everyone to dance at least once. It made Claude laugh how overwhelmed they were. He took pity on them later on in the month, and took them dancing for a little while. They managed to smile a little with him, which he was grateful for. During the process, however, he lost Edelgard on the dance floor. After his dance with Teach was done, he looked for her everywhere and found her in the courtyard. She was looking up at the stars, and he did not want to disturb her.

At least Fodlan’s winter nights let him see the sky clearly. 

“Hello, Princess. Managed to shake your lackey?” He found himself saying, the smile reappearing on his face once again. 

She didn’t even turn around. 

“Hello, Claude. I hope you’ve been keeping well.” She told him.

He had been keeping well, except for the incessant voice in the back of his mind that kept reminding him about a certain event that had happened in the fall of the year. He was not about to tell her that, though. 

“I have been. Funny, how fast time flies when you’re studying with others. I hope you’ve been keeping well, too.” He remarked. He was mostly looking at the stars, but also looking at her. 

“I have been. Your class has a remarkable penchant for getting everyone else into trouble.” She told him, turning to regard him with those lavender eyes again. It was like he was paralyzed, suddenly. 

“For once in my life, I can honestly say that it is not me.” He promised, a grin appearing on his face. If he liked to get into trouble, Teach was all too happy to provide it just by existing. He felt bad for them. 

“And yet, you still manage them impeccably. Almost as though you are one of them, yourself.” It took him a minute to realize she meant a commoner, himself. That wasn’t true one bit, but he was not about to let her in on that secret. 

“You almost sound jealous.” He noted, his voice almost a little too smooth and cheery. 

“I am. Very much, in fact.” She said.

That was enough to give her his full attention. 

“Why is that?” He asked. 

“For years, I wanted someone to help me with my goals. The Professor is so invested in yours, I am not sure she has room for anyone else.” 

Claude thought back on the adventures he and Teach had, and realized he felt the same way about them. Even though he doubted he knew what their goals were at the moment, either.

“So the Professor chose me out of the three of us. As I see it, fate put us together.” He shrugged. 

Edelgard narrowed her eyes slightly.

“I did not take you to be a religious man, Claude.” She said.

“Fate isn’t a religion, Princess. That’s how I see it, anyway.” He continued smiling, though his eyes softened just a little, since he was telling the truth.

“What else do you see, Claude? I am curious as to your insight.” She asked him. 

She did not bother hiding that it was a trap question, but Claude could not tell what it was a trap for. Their current landscape did him no favors, either. 

“About what, exactly, Princess?” He asked, smirking the only way he knew how when he was faced with a dangerous situation. 

“Anything. You’re a curious one, Claude Von Riegan.” She answered. He had been prepared to dismiss the question, but her using his full name- full Fodlan name, anyway, made his heart flutter a little. 

“Well, I think that you’re very interesting, but you won’t let your guard down enough to let anyone in. Believe me, I understand that, but that doesn’t make it any less infuriating.” He finished, never losing the smile, though he could feel it grow almost devilish on his face.

“That is the same exact way I think of you.” She admitted. That made him happier than he would ever admit to her. 

“So what should we do about it?” He asked aloud. 

“We should pretend we’re not speaking to each other. It would be better for both of us that way.” Edelgard said. 

Claude wasn’t expecting that at all. 

“There’s a but there, though.” He noted. 

“But you’re too charming to stay away from. I do not know it is about you, Claude, but you’re… almost alluring.” She finished. There was a faint blush upon her cheeks. He was glad he was facing away from the moonlight, because his cheeks were also beginning to feel flushed. 

He opened his mouth to say something when he heard footsteps approaching. Instead of sticking around to finish the conversation, his feet told him to flee. Before he did, however, he made sure to kiss Edelgard on the cheek before leaving as fast as he could back to mingle with nobles. 

>>>>>>>>>

The fighting had been going on for far too long, much to Claude's chagrin and dismay. The war had taken too many lives, with Dimitri's life being one name he knew in a list of too many. He knew Edelgard caused this by declaring war on the church of Seiros five years ago, and he hoped outside the castle of Enbarr that they could speak, but it was apparent as soon as they stepped in the Castle there was no concessions to be made. Slowly, the army made its way to the throne room with the help of Dedue. At some point, his friends broke off to stop reinforcements from getting to the Emperor. And then, they were alone. For a second, Claude was thrown back five years to smiles exchanged riding wyverns. Whether they had been prodding or not, he had enjoyed working with her, and he'd never deny that. 

He sighed. 

"Hello, Edelgard. This is your last chance to surrender." He was not happy to hear this coming from his own mouth, but he knew in his heart what had to be done. 

She had not grown in 5 years. There was so much chaos at Gronder Field, he had not gotten to look at her, but now he could see her. Despite the change in hairstyle, she still looked like the girl he had known 5 years ago. That wasn't helping. 

"And I will not surrender. I am sorry, Claude, but I will not stop until the church has been eradicated." She answered. She did sound genuinely sad, at least. He wanted to yell at her to stop being so stubborn and to give up already, but every second he took to talk to her was wasting time and putting his friend's lives at risk. 

"We are not the Church." He answered, steadying his wyvern in the air. 

"Maybe, but I cannot join forces with an unknown." She replied. 

He wished that it stung more than it did. Then he could justify the heaviness he felt in his heart. But he couldn't. 

"If you're going to continue on this path, one more question. Did you like me?" He asked. It was a question that had weighed heavily on his mind ever since the ball that seemed a lifetime ago. 

Edelgard stared at him for a moment, her expression softer than it should have been. 

"That is water under the bridge, Claude." She told him. He wished he hadn't asked, then. Despite him being more open with his friends now, old habits resurfaced suddenly, and he felt the old Academy smile creep back on his face in full force then. 

"I guess it is water under the bridge, huh?" He asked way too cheerfully, and aimed and shot Failnaught at her shoulder knowing that he would incapacitate her. 

She did not scream in pain when the shot hit her. He was always a scoundrel, but he didn't even say goodbye to her as she lay bleeding out on the floor. He was also a scoundrel for not finishing the job himself and waiting for Teach to come deliver the final blow. He flew away, over the bridge that served as a mini moat to the Adrestian throne, and out the palace, so he did not have to see it.

**Author's Note:**

> I have not written angst in a very very very long time. As a result I went with this and even though it took a month to finish due to school, I'm happy with how it came out. It is my first time writing Edelgard, who I really need to write more often. I tried to take VW's sympathy towards her and put it into the fic, as well. As always, thanks for reading and commenting, and you can find me on twitter @sacredsymbol821!


End file.
